More details emerge about synthetic drug investigation

Published: Friday, June 28, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, June 27, 2013 at 9:25 p.m.

Drugs, paraphernalia, money and firearms were seized during an investigation into synthetic drug sales named “Project Synergy” that spanned more than two years and involved state, federal and local law enforcement agencies.

Thirty men and women in Henderson, Transylvania and Buncombe counties were charged with distributing synthetic drugs — cloaked as incense and bath salts. With names like “K2” and “Spice,” synthetically altered substances contain chemicals which mimic the effects of marijuana, cocaine, LSD or methamphetamine.

True bills of indictment unsealed Wednesday provide a glimpse of the tri-county operation that landed two Henderson County men in jail.

Police suspect at least two local hotel rooms may have been used as distribution points in trafficking the synthetic drugs, which the Drug Enforcement Administration says causes “significant abuse, addiction, overdoses and emergency room visits. Those who have abused synthetic drugs have suffered vomiting, anxiety, agitation, irritability, seizures, hallucinations, tachycardia, elevated blood pressure and loss of consciousness.”

A notice of forfeiture listed in a seven-page indictment charging a Fletcher man with narcotics crimes says $5,900 was seized from room 140 at Quality Inn, 201 Sugarloaf Road in Hendersonville, on Jan. 8. A Charter Arms .410 caliber revolver and a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol were also confiscated.

On June 5, 2012, “drug paraphernalia, to include glass smoking pipes,” was seized from Days Inn at 183 Underwood Road in Fletcher during the investigation, according to the indictment.

Hermant “Jay” Sahney, 53, of Fletcher was charged with one count of narcotics conspiracy involving synthetic marijuana and synthetic cathinones (stimulants or hallucinogens), two counts of possession with intent to distribute synthetic marijuana and synthetic cathinones and one count of offering drug paraphernalia for sale.

If convicted, Sahney faces up to 63 years in prison and up to $3.25 million in fines.

He had his first appearance in U.S. District Court in Charlotte Wednesday. Sahney was advised of his rights and the charges lodged against him. He told the court that he had retained attorney Erin Taylor to represent him.

His arraignment was set for 3:10 p.m. July 8 in courtroom 2 of U.S. District Court in Asheville.

The owner of Octopus Garden smoke shops and several store managers and employees, including an East Flat Rock man, also face charges related to synthetic drugs.

Were they legal?

Synthetically enhanced bath salts and incense, used by some to get high and others to get rich, were carted off in boxes from head shops in the three counties last December.

The shops that sold them were closed... at least for the day. Law enforcement officers considered it a decisive strike in the war on synthetic drugs.

Shop employees, however, claimed the substances were legal when they sold them. Some of the chemicals in the bath salts and incense that turn the otherwise harmless items into drug hazards were not specifically listed under the federal Controlled Substances Act.

There was no description on federal law books for synthetic marijuana or bath salts that could cause hallucinations a year ago. But a state law that went into effect June 1, 2011 banned the selling, manufacturing and possessing of synthetic drugs. It classified ingredients in bath salts as schedule I controlled substances, meaning they have a high potential for abuse.

Octopus Garden opened in Hendersonville two months later selling pipe tobacco, wallets, candle holders, incense, oil burners, women's handbags, hemp necklaces, T-shirts, Hookahs, hats, body jewelry and more. James “Reverend” Covington, manager of the store, told the Times-News in August 2011 that they would not sell salvia, a hallucinogenic herb outlawed in the state in 2009.

“We don't carry because it's illegal,” he said in 2011.

He also said they would not be selling “a product called ‘bath salts,'” or any melatonin-laced brownies, deemed unsafe by the government.

But, according to an indictment, officers found synthetic marijuana at the Hendersonville shop — owner Greg Casey's sixth establishment.

DEA finds a way

Drug Enforcement officers also found that some of the hallucinogenic chemicals could fall under the federal Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement Act of 1986, according to an agency news release. That law “allows many of these drugs to be treated as controlled substances if they are proven to be chemically and/or pharmacologically similar to a schedule I or schedule II controlled substance.”

Federal agencies used that interpretation to conduct “Project Synergy,” targeting “the upper echelon of dangerous designer synthetic drug trafficking organizations” in 35 states. The operation netted more than 75 arrests, seized nearly $15 million in cash and assets and unveiled a “massive flow of drug-related proceeds back to countries in the Middle East and elsewhere.”

In North Carolina, a new law that goes into effect July 1 adds “synthetic cannabinoids,” — any chemical that mimics the effects of marijuana’s active ingredient, THC — to the state’s Controlled Substances Act.

House Bill 813 is considered to be a catch-all provision, and basically states that regardless of its name, if a substance acts like an illegal drug and produces a high like an illegal drug... it’s an illegal drug, said Rep. Craig Horn (R-Union), who wrote the legislation titled “Ban Synthetic Cannabinoids.”

With some people finding ways to skirt the law, he said, it “became clear that we needed” a more omnipitent approach to the conceived ambiguities of the law.

Horn, who serves on the Child Fatality Task Force, crafted similar legislation that preceded House Bill 813 in 2011 and 2012, dealing with synthetic drugs. “Over the last three years I have worked closely with law enforcement and the DEA,” he said, to come up with the latest solution.

“The sale and use of these synthetic drugs commonly known as ‘K2’ or ‘Spice’ and ‘Bath Salts’ have been widely abused in our community,” said Maj. Frank Stout of the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office. “Hopefully the new legislation can close any loophole that gives the impression the substances are ‘legal’ to purchase and possess.”

The bill “also targets ‘imitation control substances’ which includes pill form, capsule form, tablet form, or any form of the substance that is not controlled and regulated by law,” Stout added.

Another strike in the war on synthetic drugs, however, came July 9, 2012 when the federal Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 was signed into law. The act added certain classes of synthetic cannabinoids and two substituted cathinones, simulating the effects of hallucinogens and stimulants, to the federal controlled substances act.

Henderson County's only store, at 2000 Spartanburg Highway in Hendersonville, reopened shortly after the raid.

“As with many of the Octopus Garden locations, including the one on Spartanburg Highway, after the initial raids the businesses re-opened and continued to sell paraphernalia and items associated with synthetic drugs,” Stout said.

“With the federal indictments on the owner and most employees being taken into custody, as well as the new legislation going into effect in July, hopefully this latest law enforcement effort will significantly affect the sale and delivery of these highly addictive and potentially deadly products in our community.”

The lights were off, the doors were locked and the open sign was not illuminated at Octopus Garden in Hendersonville Thursday afternoon. The business' phone rang without an answer.

Multiple charges

George Coleman Freiberg, 32, of Arden was charged with selling a substance containing synthetic marijuana from an offense on April 28, 2012 at an Octopus Garden on Rosman Highway in Brevard; and Zachary Adam Shuford, 33, of East Flat Rock was charged with the same crime from an offense at the store a day later, according to a 21-page indictment unsealed Wednesday.

Authorities charged Shuford with selling a glass smoking pipe and a substance containing synthetic marijuana again at the Brevard store on May 10.

During the Dec. 17 morning raid of Octopus Garden in Hendersonville, Gregory Scott Casey, 38, of Asheville, James Scott Covington Jr., 28, of Asheville, Gerald William Locklear, 60, of Asheville and Freiberg were charged with aiding and abetting the intent to possess and distribute substances containing synthetic marijuana.

The four were also charged with aiding and abetting the sale of drug paraphernalia (glass smoking pipes) intended for introducing substances into the human body, according to the indictment.

Casey and Locklear were also charged with aiding and abetting the intent to possess and distribute synthetic marijuana and drug paraphernalia on Dec. 17 at the Brevard store.

Bank accounts belonging to Octopus Garden and Locklear at Bank of America were frozen on Dec. 17 and more than $1.16 million was seized in the investigation. Three cars registered to Octopus Garden and Locklear's car were also confiscated along with drug paraphernalia from each of the six stores.

In addition, Casey faces one count each of narcotics conspiracy involving synthetic marijuana, distribution of synthetic marijuana and money laundering conspiracy, eight counts of selling or offering drug paraphernalia for sale and seven counts of possessing with the intent to distribute synthetic marijuana.

Locklear has been charged with one count each of narcotics conspiracy involving synthetic marijuana, distribution of synthetic marijuana and money laundering conspiracy, eight counts of selling or offering drug paraphernalia for sale and seven counts of possessing with the intent to distribute synthetic marijuana.

Casey and Locklear each face more than 200 years in prison and $10.5 million in fines if they are convicted and receive the maximum penalty for all charges.

Covington was charged with selling a substance containing synthetic marijuana and drug paraphernalia from offenses on May 15, 2012 at the Hendersonville store, according to the indictment. He faces one count each of narcotics conspiracy involving synthetic marijuana, distribution of synthetic marijuana, possession with the intent to distribute synthetic marijuana, and two counts of selling or offering drug paraphernalia for sale.

If he is convicted of all of his charges, he could spend up to 66 years in prison and $2.5 million in fines.

In their first appearance in U.S. District Court in Charlotte Wednesday, Freiberg was appointed counsel and his arraignment was set for 10:10 a.m. July 8; Shuford was appointed counsel and his arraignment was set for 11:10 a.m.; Covington was appointed counsel and his arraignment was set for 9:40 a.m.; Casey told the court that he had retained attorney Emily Marroquin to represent him and his arraignment was set for 9:30 a.m.; Locklear told the court that he had retained Marroquin to represent him and his arraignment was set for 10:50 a.m.

Each defendant was given a $25,000 unsecured bond. All arraignments are set to be held in courtroom 2 of U.S. District Court in Asheville on July 8.

The Henderson County Sheriff's Office assisted in serving warrants in the Homeland Security's raid on the businesses. Deputies also transported the suspects arrested to Charlotte for federal holding.

<p>Drugs, paraphernalia, money and firearms were seized during an investigation into synthetic drug sales named “Project Synergy” that spanned more than two years and involved state, federal and local law enforcement agencies. </p><p>Thirty men and women in Henderson, Transylvania and Buncombe counties were charged with distributing synthetic drugs — cloaked as incense and bath salts. With names like “K2” and “Spice,” synthetically altered substances contain chemicals which mimic the effects of marijuana, cocaine, LSD or methamphetamine.</p><p>True bills of indictment unsealed Wednesday provide a glimpse of the tri-county operation that landed two Henderson County men in jail.</p><p>Police suspect at least two local hotel rooms may have been used as distribution points in trafficking the synthetic drugs, which the Drug Enforcement Administration says causes “significant abuse, addiction, overdoses and emergency room visits. Those who have abused synthetic drugs have suffered vomiting, anxiety, agitation, irritability, seizures, hallucinations, tachycardia, elevated blood pressure and loss of consciousness.” </p><p>A notice of forfeiture listed in a seven-page indictment charging a Fletcher man with narcotics crimes says $5,900 was seized from room 140 at Quality Inn, 201 Sugarloaf Road in Hendersonville, on Jan. 8. A Charter Arms .410 caliber revolver and a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol were also confiscated. </p><p>On June 5, 2012, “drug paraphernalia, to include glass smoking pipes,” was seized from Days Inn at 183 Underwood Road in Fletcher during the investigation, according to the indictment.</p><p>Hermant “Jay” Sahney, 53, of Fletcher was charged with one count of narcotics conspiracy involving synthetic marijuana and synthetic cathinones (stimulants or hallucinogens), two counts of possession with intent to distribute synthetic marijuana and synthetic cathinones and one count of offering drug paraphernalia for sale. </p><p>If convicted, Sahney faces up to 63 years in prison and up to $3.25 million in fines.</p><p>He had his first appearance in U.S. District Court in Charlotte Wednesday. Sahney was advised of his rights and the charges lodged against him. He told the court that he had retained attorney Erin Taylor to represent him. </p><p>His arraignment was set for 3:10 p.m. July 8 in courtroom 2 of U.S. District Court in Asheville.</p><p>The owner of Octopus Garden smoke shops and several store managers and employees, including an East Flat Rock man, also face charges related to synthetic drugs. </p><p><b>Were they legal?</b></p><p>Synthetically enhanced bath salts and incense, used by some to get high and others to get rich, were carted off in boxes from head shops in the three counties last December. </p><p>The shops that sold them were closed... at least for the day. Law enforcement officers considered it a decisive strike in the war on synthetic drugs.</p><p>Shop employees, however, claimed the substances were legal when they sold them. Some of the chemicals in the bath salts and incense that turn the otherwise harmless items into drug hazards were not specifically listed under the federal Controlled Substances Act. </p><p>There was no description on federal law books for synthetic marijuana or bath salts that could cause hallucinations a year ago. But a state law that went into effect June 1, 2011 banned the selling, manufacturing and possessing of synthetic drugs. It classified ingredients in bath salts as schedule I controlled substances, meaning they have a high potential for abuse.</p><p>Octopus Garden opened in Hendersonville two months later selling pipe tobacco, wallets, candle holders, incense, oil burners, women's handbags, hemp necklaces, T-shirts, Hookahs, hats, body jewelry and more. James “Reverend” Covington, manager of the store, told the Times-News in August 2011 that they would not sell salvia, a hallucinogenic herb outlawed in the state in 2009.</p><p>“We don't carry because it's illegal,” he said in 2011. </p><p>He also said they would not be selling “a product called 'bath salts,'” or any melatonin-laced brownies, deemed unsafe by the government.</p><p>But, according to an indictment, officers found synthetic marijuana at the Hendersonville shop — owner Greg Casey's sixth establishment.</p><p><b>DEA finds a way</b></p><p>Drug Enforcement officers also found that some of the hallucinogenic chemicals could fall under the federal Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement Act of 1986, according to an agency news release. That law “allows many of these drugs to be treated as controlled substances if they are proven to be chemically and/or pharmacologically similar to a schedule I or schedule II controlled substance.”</p><p>Federal agencies used that interpretation to conduct “Project Synergy,” targeting “the upper echelon of dangerous designer synthetic drug trafficking organizations” in 35 states. The operation netted more than 75 arrests, seized nearly $15 million in cash and assets and unveiled a “massive flow of drug-related proceeds back to countries in the Middle East and elsewhere.”</p><p>In North Carolina, a new law that goes into effect July 1 adds “synthetic cannabinoids,” — any chemical that mimics the effects of marijuana's active ingredient, THC — to the state's Controlled Substances Act.</p><p>House Bill 813 is considered to be a catch-all provision, and basically states that regardless of its name, if a substance acts like an illegal drug and produces a high like an illegal drug... it's an illegal drug, said Rep. Craig Horn (R-Union), who wrote the legislation titled “Ban Synthetic Cannabinoids.”</p><p>With some people finding ways to skirt the law, he said, it “became clear that we needed” a more omnipitent approach to the conceived ambiguities of the law.</p><p>Horn, who serves on the Child Fatality Task Force, crafted similar legislation that preceded House Bill 813 in 2011 and 2012, dealing with synthetic drugs. “Over the last three years I have worked closely with law enforcement and the DEA,” he said, to come up with the latest solution. </p><p>“The sale and use of these synthetic drugs commonly known as 'K2' or 'Spice' and 'Bath Salts' have been widely abused in our community,” said Maj. Frank Stout of the Henderson County Sheriff's Office. “Hopefully the new legislation can close any loophole that gives the impression the substances are 'legal' to purchase and possess.” </p><p>The bill “also targets 'imitation control substances' which includes pill form, capsule form, tablet form, or any form of the substance that is not controlled and regulated by law,” Stout added. </p><p>Another strike in the war on synthetic drugs, however, came July 9, 2012 when the federal Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 was signed into law. The act added certain classes of synthetic cannabinoids and two substituted cathinones, simulating the effects of hallucinogens and stimulants, to the federal controlled substances act.</p><p><b>Closed for good?</b></p><p>Federal authorities raided the six Octopus Garden smoke shops in Henderson, Buncombe and Transylvania counties on the morning of Dec. 17, seizing synthetic drugs, cash and paraphernalia.</p><p>Henderson County's only store, at 2000 Spartanburg Highway in Hendersonville, reopened shortly after the raid. </p><p>“As with many of the Octopus Garden locations, including the one on Spartanburg Highway, after the initial raids the businesses re-opened and continued to sell paraphernalia and items associated with synthetic drugs,” Stout said. </p><p>“With the federal indictments on the owner and most employees being taken into custody, as well as the new legislation going into effect in July, hopefully this latest law enforcement effort will significantly affect the sale and delivery of these highly addictive and potentially deadly products in our community.”</p><p>The lights were off, the doors were locked and the open sign was not illuminated at Octopus Garden in Hendersonville Thursday afternoon. The business' phone rang without an answer.</p><p><b>Multiple charges</b></p><p>George Coleman Freiberg, 32, of Arden was charged with selling a substance containing synthetic marijuana from an offense on April 28, 2012 at an Octopus Garden on Rosman Highway in Brevard; and Zachary Adam Shuford, 33, of East Flat Rock was charged with the same crime from an offense at the store a day later, according to a 21-page indictment unsealed Wednesday.</p><p>Authorities charged Shuford with selling a glass smoking pipe and a substance containing synthetic marijuana again at the Brevard store on May 10.</p><p>During the Dec. 17 morning raid of Octopus Garden in Hendersonville, Gregory Scott Casey, 38, of Asheville, James Scott Covington Jr., 28, of Asheville, Gerald William Locklear, 60, of Asheville and Freiberg were charged with aiding and abetting the intent to possess and distribute substances containing synthetic marijuana. </p><p>The four were also charged with aiding and abetting the sale of drug paraphernalia (glass smoking pipes) intended for introducing substances into the human body, according to the indictment.</p><p>Casey and Locklear were also charged with aiding and abetting the intent to possess and distribute synthetic marijuana and drug paraphernalia on Dec. 17 at the Brevard store.</p><p>Bank accounts belonging to Octopus Garden and Locklear at Bank of America were frozen on Dec. 17 and more than $1.16 million was seized in the investigation. Three cars registered to Octopus Garden and Locklear's car were also confiscated along with drug paraphernalia from each of the six stores.</p><p>In addition, Casey faces one count each of narcotics conspiracy involving synthetic marijuana, distribution of synthetic marijuana and money laundering conspiracy, eight counts of selling or offering drug paraphernalia for sale and seven counts of possessing with the intent to distribute synthetic marijuana.</p><p>Locklear has been charged with one count each of narcotics conspiracy involving synthetic marijuana, distribution of synthetic marijuana and money laundering conspiracy, eight counts of selling or offering drug paraphernalia for sale and seven counts of possessing with the intent to distribute synthetic marijuana.</p><p>Casey and Locklear each face more than 200 years in prison and $10.5 million in fines if they are convicted and receive the maximum penalty for all charges.</p><p>Covington was charged with selling a substance containing synthetic marijuana and drug paraphernalia from offenses on May 15, 2012 at the Hendersonville store, according to the indictment. He faces one count each of narcotics conspiracy involving synthetic marijuana, distribution of synthetic marijuana, possession with the intent to distribute synthetic marijuana, and two counts of selling or offering drug paraphernalia for sale.</p><p>If he is convicted of all of his charges, he could spend up to 66 years in prison and $2.5 million in fines.</p><p>In their first appearance in U.S. District Court in Charlotte Wednesday, Freiberg was appointed counsel and his arraignment was set for 10:10 a.m. July 8; Shuford was appointed counsel and his arraignment was set for 11:10 a.m.; Covington was appointed counsel and his arraignment was set for 9:40 a.m.; Casey told the court that he had retained attorney Emily Marroquin to represent him and his arraignment was set for 9:30 a.m.; Locklear told the court that he had retained Marroquin to represent him and his arraignment was set for 10:50 a.m. </p><p>Each defendant was given a $25,000 unsecured bond. All arraignments are set to be held in courtroom 2 of U.S. District Court in Asheville on July 8.</p><p>The Henderson County Sheriff's Office assisted in serving warrants in the Homeland Security's raid on the businesses. Deputies also transported the suspects arrested to Charlotte for federal holding.</p><p>Reach Weaver at emily.weaver@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7867.</p>